


F.R.I.E.N.D.S

by aurawinterrain



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Akaashi Keiji is a Mess, Akaashi Keji is also an idiot, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bokuto Koutarou is a Good Boyfriend, Bokuto Koutarou is an idiot, Break Up, Getting Back Together, M/M, Mentions of alcohol, Sad Akaashi Keiji, Sad Bokuto Koutarou, Why Did I Write This?, fukurodani being chaotic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:41:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25806037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurawinterrain/pseuds/aurawinterrain
Summary: Bokuto broke up with Akaashi - but they are still friends. Except, they are both craving for something more.-"If two people can remain friends after a breakup, either they were never in love, or they still are."
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 1
Kudos: 86
Collections: Bokuaka Week 2020





	F.R.I.E.N.D.S

**Author's Note:**

> Idk why I wrote this but enjoy, I guess. I kind of liked the later part of it.

“Akaashi, let’s break up.” 

Time seemingly stopped after Bokuto uttered those four cursed words. Akaashi’s mouth parted, words on the tip of his tongue, but nothing came out. It felt like his voice was stuck, and there was something in his throat preventing him from speaking. The setter blinked a couple of times, trying to compose himself as Bokuto waited patiently for him to respond. 

“I’m sorry,” Akaashi finally managed to rasp out, voice weird and shaky, completely unlike himself. Bokuto’s gaze softened, and he moved nearer cautiously. “You don’t have to apologise, ‘kaashi. I shouldn’t have tried to force something out of nothing, after all. We can still be friends, right?” He gave Akaashi a grin, and when the latter finally gathered enough courage to properly look at Bokuto, he saw the tear streaks and knew that deep down inside, Bokuto was hurting too. 

_ Maybe this is for the best, after all.  _ Akaashi let out a strained chuckle, already standing up and preparing to leave although the food had yet to come. “Of course, we can still be friends. I should probably take my leave if you don’t mind. There’s a deadline coming soon.” Bokuto hummed in agreement, watching as Akaashi left the cafe without even turning back, even if every fibre in him was yelling at him to jump up and hold Akaashi back - tell me that it was a joke, it was just a prank, tell him  _ anything _ . When the door to the cafe shut fully, Bokuto finally broke, folding into himself as tears dripped from his eyes like a broken faucet. 

Two people went to bed with a broken heart, that night. 

-

Bokuto and Akaashi were the school’s stellar couple. Bokuto was loud, kind of idiotic, and some might even label him as annoying. He was good at volleyball, though, and no one could deny that when he got into his game on the court, he was insanely intimidating. Still, with his erratic mood swings and hyperactive personality, Akaashi seemed to be the only one who knew who to control the wing spiker. He was calm, collected, and knew just what to say at what time to get Bokuto to calm down. 

In a way, Bokuto also brightened up Akaashi’s life. He never met someone who looked so beautiful, so inspiring on court before. When he first saw Bokuto, it flashed across his mind that,  _ ah, so that’s what a star looks like. _ Bokuto was a star - he was  _ Akaashi’s _ star. So where did everything start to go wrong? 

Akaashi couldn’t remember exactly when his insecurities started to cloud his thoughts, and before he realised it, he was pulling away from Bokuto. There were times where he wanted to just stop and spill his heart out to the wing spiker, but he never found the right words for it. So these little doubts and questions remained unsaid, trapped in Akaashi’s mind. Slowly, they manifested into something huge, and when Bokuto came back late for the fourth time that week, even though Hinata had posted on social media that practice had ended early, Akaashi snapped. 

Once the door to their apartment swung open, the stench of alcohol hit Akaashi’s nostrils, only serving to fuel the anger that was already bubbling beneath the surface. 

“Where were you?” His voice was sharp, as he surveyed Bokuto’s appearance. 

“We were having dinner together as a team? We used to do that too, after practice, remember?” Bokuto’s movements were sluggish, and he stumbled on his way into the living room. “Why’re you mad, ‘kaashi?” 

“Oh really? Dinner as a team? Why was Hinata with Kageyama, then? I didn’t know you two merged teams.” Bokuto’s brows furrowed, clearly puzzled as to why Akaashi was being so angry and snappy. 

“Well, Hinata left because he wanted to spend some time with Kageyama… The rest of us went for dinner together.”

“And you couldn’t have done the same? How long has it been since we spent some time together? We might as well be roommates, since we hardly talk these days. You know what? Whatever. I know that in your eyes your team will always take precedence over everything.” Akaashi huffed out, putting down the papers that he was reviewing down on the table and heading back to their room without another word. 

Perhaps that was when they started to fall apart. 

For Bokuto, volleyball was his life. Back in middle school, where everyone shunned him for being too loud and too boisterous, he found solace in smacking the ball across the court, watching as the defenders tried - and failed - to receive his spikes. He would go to the ends of the world for volleyball - but that didn’t mean he didn’t care about his partner. He was perfect, no, he was  _ more than  _ perfect. 

He was understanding, knowing that Akaashi’s schedules weren’t fixed and might get called up in the middle of the night. He was sweet, always planning something nice on their off days so both of them could relax. He was everything anyone could want as a boyfriend, but he was also busy. He had training, matches back to back, even matches overseas. Initially, akaashi was fine with it all. Bokuto still showered him with love and affection over text, sometimes perhaps  _ too _ much love and affection, so he was fine with going to sleep alone and waking up the next day to a cold and empty bed. 

That was, until the texts started dwindling. Bokuto was at the peak of his career, and he was spending more time at the gym than he was at home. Akaashi grew tired of staying up to wait for Bokuto, only to find that the latter didn’t even bother coming back. Soon, their limited time together turned to fights, and it was obvious that they were both unhappy. That was when Bokuto started thinking that maybe, just maybe, they would be happier with someone else. The thought of letting Akaashi go made him feel like his heart was being ripped out of his body, but he saw just how exhausted the editor was. 

There was simply no point in dragging something that was already ruined on. He had to let Akaashi go.

And he did. 

-

Akaashi and Bokuto still remained on friendly terms. They had mutual friends, afterall. It would be weird for them to suddenly stop speaking to each other and completely cut the other out from their lives. So, it wasn’t rare to see the both of them still hanging out together on weekends, or whenever they were free, just sharing about what was going on in their lives.  _ Just as friends though, friends.  _ Akaashi always reminded himself, even when Bokuto seemed way too excited to be hanging out with him than with someone that he regarded as a “friend”.

“You guys  _ still  _ hang out even after you broke up? Isn’t it awkward?” Konoha asked, setting a can of beer down. “What are you going to do after Bokuto moves on? Or if  _ you  _ move on?” Akaashi paused, a little startled to think about the scenario that they would eventually find another partner and get along with their lives. He let out a soft sign, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling of his tiny apartment. 

“If Bokuto-san moves on, I will congratulate him with a smile on my face, because he deserves to be happy. As for the latter, I don’t think it would happen - not anytime soon, anyway. I love him too much to move on.” The last sentence was so soft, Konoha almost didn’t catch it. The blonde’s heart clenched to see Akaashi look so upset, taking a long sip out of his can before finally speaking. 

“You know, they say that if two people can remain friends after a breakup, either they were never in love, or they still are.”

Akaashi merely laughed, thinking that Konoha was just trying to cheer him up like a good senior would. What he didn’t know was that Konoha was just speaking to Bokuto a day ago, only to have Bokuto repeat the same words that Akaashi said - “I still love him, bro. I don’t think I’ll move on that easily. Akaashi though? If he finds someone that would love him even more than I do, I will let him go. He deserves to be happy.” 

_ Well, I won’t do anything to interfere,  _ Konoha thought, watching as Akaashi down his can of beer in one shot.  _ After all, they will work everything out in the end.  _

-

Konoha wasn’t wrong. Just a week later, Fukurodani held it’s bi-annual meetup, where the members would book a small chalet to just meet up and chat about their current lives. Bokuto was usually abroad, and Akaashi was usually too busy to attend the meetup, but it so happened that their breaks coincided with the weekend that the meetup was scheduled. So, it wasn’t unexpected when they both turned up that day, a little awkward around each other after their talk with Konoha. The rest of the members didn’t seem to pick up on their unease, and they were quickly dragged into the games and chaos that had already started. 

Washio dragged Akaashi off to play beer pong, and Konoha guided Bokuto towards the circle, where they were playing truth or dare. Akaashi started to protest, saying that he doesn’t drink, but the middle blocker merely said that was nonsense, how else did Keiji do business if he doesn’t drink? Bokuto was also struggling to get out of his turn for truth or dare, knowing just how racy the dares could get, and he didn’t really feel like speaking the truth with Akaashi just a few tables away. 

When Bokuto finally broke free from Konoha, he stood up to see Komi throw a ball directly into the cup that was on Akaashi’s side. “You have to drink it all up, ‘kaashi!” Washio laughed, taking the ping-pong ball up and thrusting it towards the editor. 

“Hey hey hey! Kaashi’s going to drive home, so I don’t think he should be playing any drinking games. I’ll drink on his behalf, how about that?” Without waiting for the rest of the members to agree, Bokuto was already chugging the beer down, setting it down on the table with a large grin on his face, 

It turns out, Akaashi was paired with one of the worst throwers on their team - Onaga. Meanwhile, Washio and Komi could be crowned the michael jordan of beer pong - almost every shot was clean and more often than not, ended in their cups. So, it wasn’t long before Bokuto was feeling tipsy, swaying on his feet as he watched the game progress. After Washio finally got the ball to land in the last cup, Bokuto felt like he was about to pass out, or throw up - or both. He swallowed thickly, holding the red cup to his lips as he took a small sip. 

“Bokuto-san, it’s fine, I’ll drink it.” Akaashi was suddenly in front of him, guiding the cup away from his face. 

“B-but I said that I’ll do it… it’s fine, I’m not a lightweight you know…” His words were slightly slurred together, a clear indicated that he had well gone past his tolerance level. Akaashi chuckled, setting the cup aside and shooed the rest of the members away. He looped an arm around Bokuto’s weight, slowly moving them towards the couch in the next room - far away from the noise and chatter of the rest of the members. 

“You didn’t have to offer to do that, you know? You’re going to have a horrible hangover tomorrow.” Akaashi chided softly, cracking open a bottle of water and placing it in front of the wing spiker. 

“Yeah, but I didn’t like the thought of you getting drunk with someone else that isn’t me. I know my alcohol tolerance level is higher than yours, so I thought it would be fine. I didn’t know just how much beer there was in one cup, damn... “ Akaashi sat down beside Bokuto, turning them so they were facing each other directly. 

“Why would the thought of me getting drunk with the rest of the members bother you?” he prompted softly, even when his heart was thumping against his chest like crazy on the inside. Bokuto slumped forward, resting his head on Akaashi’s shoulder. 

“Cause I still love you, Keiji…” He mumbled. “I still love you and I don’t wanna let you go, but you were so unhappy with me so I had to, because I want you to be happy, even if I’m not.”

“Oh… You’re an idiot, Koutarou.” Akaashi pulled away slightly, so he could look at Bokuto properly. “Why would you think that breaking up with me was the correct answer if you still love me?”

“Because I thought you didn’t love me anymore!” Bokuto wailed, tears starting to spill. 

“And why would I ever fall out of love with you - I was frustrated, yes. I was tired of how our relationship seemed stagnant and nothing seemed to be progressing. That didn’t mean I wanted you to backtrack completely and break up with me! I thought  _ you _ fell out of love with  _ me _ ! If I knew that you still love me I wouldn’t have left, I would have stayed so we could work things out together.”

“Is it too late now, though?”

“Too late?”

“Too late to want to work things out together, you and me?”

“If it’s you, koutarou, it’s never too late.” 


End file.
